According to a recent report by the Investment Association, city employers have continued to invest in diversity and equity, despite cutting costs over the last year.
The IA’s annual culture, talent and inclusion report looks at companies who employ 81% of asset managers in the UK.
The snapshot for the year up to December 2023 found that data collection is improving.
Six out of ten respondents reported that they collected data on at least six aspects of diversity: age, disability ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and gender.
More than 80% cite gender, ethnicity and age as the factors that affect collection rates. IA’s findings show that the lowest collection rates are for neurodiversity and socio-economic background.
Two-thirds of companies said that they track against diversity targets within their own company, and 61% looked towards future regulations.
Employees are also more willing to share their diversity status. The IA revealed that the non-disclosure rate declined for all attributes, but was most markedly reduced in terms of gender and sexuality. The non-disclosure rates for ethnicity are 18%.
These figures show a relatively youthful workforce with just under a third of the total (34%) below 35 years old. Over four out of ten (41%) employees in investment management are women, an increase of two percentage points since 2022.
The number of women aged 50-64 years old is comparatively less. IA reported that a gender gap began to appear after the age of 35, suggesting that women are taking time off from work in order to raise their families.
In 2023, 70 percent of senior executives hired were White/White British as opposed to 80% in 2012. In total, 62% of the workforce is white, with 10% Asians, 3% Blacks, and 2% coming from mixed ethnicities.
In two-thirds (either CEOs or other executive directors) of companies, the responsibility for EDI initiatives was at the top. The board of directors held the same position in 21% of firms. A little over a third of firms (29%) only leave implementation of EDI strategies to DEI teams.
Karis Stander is the director of culture and talent at the IA.
She said that the report highlights the benefits of “robust collection and analysis” which will help the industry pinpoint specific areas for change.
Marisa hall, the head of WTW’s Thinking Ahead Institute that supported the report said it showed “tangible improvements” in its second year.
“EDI is a soft factor that increasingly influences organisational performance and investment results. Today’s insights could reveal hidden patterns and drivers for tomorrow. “This study is a look into the future, at the organisations of the future,” said she.
